Edelman, Dana Clash Over Conservancy Appointment

In an unusual debate between two of the less vociferous members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Ed Edelman and Deane Dana locked horns this week over an appointment to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Board.

Edelman, to whose district the mountainous region was added by a court-ordered reapportionment earlier this year, wanted to appoint Jerome C. Daniel, an environmentalist and homeowner activist.

Dana, who represented the area for 10 years before the supervisors took over their redrawn districts March 8, fought to retain his appointee, Tim Riley, the supervisor’s former Malibu deputy. Riley has served on the conservancy board for about a year.

Dana said Riley’s experience should override territorial concerns. Riley understands the inner workings of the county Public Works Department, Dana said, and he knows how that department’s needs fit into conservancy plans. At conservancy meetings, observers said, Riley has been particularly insistent that land be preserved for future garbage dumps.

“We felt there should be another voice on that board, some hope of attaining balance,” said Dennis Morefield, Dana’s chief deputy.

Edelman said a conservancy appointee needs more than just public works expertise.

In the end, the board backed Edelman in a 3-2 vote, appointing Daniel to the post.

The nine-member Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Board, formed in 1980, makes all decisions regarding use of the conservancy’s $11-million budget, most of which goes toward the purchase of park land. Members are appointed to indefinite terms by elected officials ranging from the governor, to the mayor of Los Angeles and the California Coastal Commission.

Daniel, 55, an attorney and life insurance salesman who lives in Bel-Air but works in Tarzana, has served on the boards of various environmental and community groups, including the Tree People, the Federation of Hillside and Canyon Assns. Inc., the Mountains Conservancy Foundation and the 16-member Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Advisory Committee, which advises the conservancy board.